According to leader.ir, in a fervent meeting with thousands of religious and revolutionary people from Tabriz on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei described the nation’s deep and revolutionary understanding in drawing a distinction between “revolution and the establishment” and “the performance of various institutions and organizations” as one of the main reasons for the different and admirable presence of the people in the nationwide rallies on February 11 this year and made important remarks on the four areas of “Revolution and its main function,” “the pathology of the Revolution,” “the priorities of the current era” and “the future of the Revolution.”    

At the beginning of this meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the coincidence of these days with the martyrdom anniversary of Fatimah az-Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, saying the lofty status of the great lady as the most outstanding heavenly women is agreed upon by all of the Muslims, whether Shias or Sunnis. He added, “The lesson of the lady of both worlds for all of the Muslims is bravery, sacrifice and epistemology.”  

Continuing, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the uprising of the people on February 18, 1978 as fateful and history-making and reiterated, “Had it not been for this massive uprising, the incident of December 22, 1978 (the deadly anti-monarchy protests in the city of Qom) would have been consigned to oblivion and the country’s historical course would have changed; therefore, with their correct uprising and understanding and timely action, the people of Tabriz succeeded in bringing about a huge movement and that movement culminated in February 11, 1979 and the victory of the Islamic Revolution.”  

He then pointed to the different and fervid rallies of the people on February 11 this year and said, “Such a popular presence in defense of the Revolution on the verge of the 40th anniversary of the Revolution is like a miracle and there is no precedent for it in any of the revolutions of the world.” 

Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the reason for the motivated turnout of the people in the rallies this year was the emergence of various hostilities at home and abroad, including by the US and some of the degenerate and disloyal neighbors and added, “Indeed, the people are critical of some of the current issues of the country and we are fully aware of their criticism, complaints and grievances and but when there is talk of the Revolution and the establishment, the people will come to the scene in the defense of the Revolution like such.”  

He said the wise presence of the people was due to the “revolutionary awareness” and “political maturity” among the nation and their ability in distinguishing between “the revolutionary establishment of the Ummah (community) and Imamate (leadership)” and “the bureaucratic organizations of the country” and said, “An individual may be critical not only of the administration and the judicial branch of the government and Majlis, but also of this humble one; however, criticism is by no means at odds with standing up for the Islamic and revolutionary establishment emanating from the perseverance of the nation and the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of martyrs and, therefore, the people will defend this Revolution with all their might.” 

Continuing, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the outstanding and revolutionary features of the people of Tabriz and described the meeting as the best opportunity to state some basic issues regarding the “functions of the Revolution,” “the pathology of the Revolution,” “priorities,” and ultimately “the future of the Islamic Revolution.” 

Pointing to the greatness and the unfathomable dimensions of the Islamic Revolution and the plentiful efforts of the enemies to dismiss its services and applications, he described the most important mission of the Islamic Revolution as “transforming a tyrannical system into a democratic establishment” and added, “Democracy means ‘the people’ are the principle in everything.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said elections and the people’s vote in directly or indirectly determining the Leader, the president and other officials as only part of the democracy and said, “Democracy means ‘granting the people [the right] to express opinion, have initiatives and make decisions in all of the affairs of life’ and this is precisely the opposite of the people being nobodies and the absolute brutality of monarchs and tyrants in successive years prior to the Revolution.”    

He recalled that foreign dominance and influence compounded internal tyranny in the second half of the Qajar era and the Americans became in charge of everything in the Pahlavi era, adding, “Democracy does not allow for foreign dominance and tyranny and as well as fundamental changes in the political management of the country, its effect is manifest in urban and rural services and the restoration of the spirit to carry out great deeds such as the formation of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Constructions Jihad and Basij [volunteer forces].”     

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the profound effects of democracy in nurturing popular talents and cited one example in the health sector, saying, “In the tyrannical era (prior to the 1979 Revolution) the country was so inept in terms human resources that Indian and Philippine physicians came to the country to provide medical treatment; however, today, Iran is the attractive health hub in the region and is among the top few countries in some rare and newly-emerging sciences and this is the result of democracy and confidence in the people and the revival of the national sense of self-confidence.”    

He cited the grandeur, honor and greatness of the Iranian nation as another function of the Islamic Revolution, saying, “Today, one of the regional countries, despite selling 10 million barrels of oil per day and having a full treasury at its disposal, is an underdeveloped country and there is not word or news of its nation in the world; however, because of religious democracy, the Iranian people are outstanding and propellers of the Revolution in the general outlook on the country.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “Due to the existence of such a reality, the enemies animosity is toward to the Iranian nation and it is not the case that the Americans are antagonistic only toward this humble one or a few administrative officials, because all of the actions that arouses their anger and rage are the deeds of the Iranian nation.” 

He described the progress of the country as an outcome of religious democracy and pointed to the designation the third decade of the Revolution as “the decade of progress and justice,” reiterating, “Progress has been made in various sectors in the real sense of the word; however, we admit that in the area of ‘justice’ we are lagging behind.”

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the need to apologize to God and the people for falling behind in the area of justice, adding, “God willing, with the endeavors of the officials and efficient and faithful men and women, we will advance in this sector as well.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “Progress means that a nation advances to the front ranks through reliance on its decision, resolve and capacity and this reality is palpable in Iran.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic has an influence and say in region issues and recalled Iran’s advances in the medical, nuclear, nanotechnology, biotechnology, defense and transportation routes, reiterating, “If we attach greater importance to our youth, they are ready take off and ascend due to the intensity of their talents and initiatives; however, we, officials, have some shortcomings in this area and more effort and struggle is needed.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “The enemies of Iran are cognizant of the advances of the past four decades, but the nations are not fully aware of these advances, because we are weak, slack and lacking initiatives in promotional activities and we have to make up for this.” 

In this same regard, he urged the officials “to recount the assorted advances of the country in a practical and artistic fashion and not with exaggeration and merely through verbal report so that some of the unaware who unwittingly voice doubt in these issues understand the realities.”  

Wrapping up this part of his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei added, “The Revolution delivered the country from misery and the nation from a state of abjection and servitude and the nation today is proudly and honorably busy influencing all affairs and this is the biggest achievement of the Revolution.” 

The second segment of the important remarks of Ayatollah Khamenei was dedicated to “the pathology of the Revolution.” 

He said the biggest blight of all revolutions is “reactionarism,” namely growing feeble, stopping and returning to a prior state, and stressed, “Nearly all of the known revolutions of the world have suffered from this predicament in their early years.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described as unique the persistence and endurance of the main slogans of the Revolution over the past four decades but cautioned, “Some dangers expose the Revolution to harm.” 

He described “moving toward aristocracy,” “counting on the affluent classes instead of attending to the underprivileged and the fragile strata” and “reliance upon and confiding in foreigners instead of the people” as examples of reactionary movement and stressed, “The elite of the society must pay attention, the country’s managers must be very careful and the people must sensitively monitor the conduct of we, officials and managers, so that such reactionary moves do not occur in the country.”  

Ayatollah Khamenei said “formerly revolutionary people” holding office but a shift in the course and route of the Revolution is tantamount to reactionarism and reiterated, “The Revolution did not occur for some to exit and us to enter; but revolution means transformation, course change and movement toward lofty goals and if these objectives are forgotten, revolutions are meaningless.”   

He described the Islamic Revolution in 1979 as the beginning of change and reformative movement in the society and added, “The Revolution did not conclude but commenced in 1979 and this movement must continue more deeply, widely and wisely.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei criticized those who have a negative perception of the term “revolutionary,” adding, “The country’s management system and the principles of the Constitution must be respected and no one should assume that revolutions are possible without an establishment.” 

He stressed, “It is wrong that some assume that in the name of the Revolution there should be a critical and remonstrative rhetoric against everything and every development and part of the Islamic establishment, because Revolution means that the Islamic establishment, religious democracy and the Ummah and Imamate establishment must have revolutionary goals and alignment.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution expressed satisfaction with the currency of Revolution and Revolutionarism among the people and the presence of numerous genuinely revolutionary managers, added, “By the grace of God, the Islamic Revolution has so far been far from a tyrannical view toward the people and it will continue to keep this distance henceforth with the sensitivity of the people and officials.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei concluded this part of his speech with these important and decisive remarks: “The officials’ aristocracy and privilege-seeking,” “carelessness vis-à-vis public funds,” and “disregard for the poor classes” are anti-Revolution moves and all of the organizations of the Establishment should move toward the goals of the Revolution with this outlook. 

In the third part of his speech while outlining “the current priorities of the country,” Ayatollah Khamenei described the issue of “economy” as very important. 

He cited reliance upon the internal capacities and the people as the fundamental solution to economic woes, adding, “As we have repeatedly said and the officials have also approved its policies, Resistance Economy does not mean confinement to inside [the country], but is endogenous and extroverted; therefore, they should not say that we want to have ties with the world, because global links are existent in Resistance Economy, but trust and reliance must be put on the people not foreigners.” 

He said the employment of domestic talents, capacities and assets requires prudence and added, “The prosperity of domestic economy requires good exports, no-more-than-required imports, attraction of foreign investment, but the reins and initiative must be in the hands of local mangers and not handed over to foreigners.” 

He described the economic earthquake and the extraordinarily severe blow over the past decade to some advanced countries in East Asia as a great lesson and added, “This blow that plunged these countries into poverty and misery overnight was the result of dependence on foreign investment.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the country’s lack of profit from dependence on and confidence in foreign countries on the issue of the nuclear deal, named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the nuclear negotiations, adding, “We saw the result of reliance on foreigners on the issue of the JCPOA and in the case of nuclear talks we trusted them but reaped no benefits; indeed, the officials have faced this issue very well and the foreign minister [Mohammad Javad Zarif] , which must be thanked, has a very good and strong approach toward the malignancy of the Americans and the Europeans’ running with the hare and hunting with the hounds and this path must continue.”      

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “We must make use of foreigners, but they should not be relied and trusted, because they will take control of the country’s destiny through various means and all of the officials must have this important issue at the center of their attention.” 

He likened forty years of struggle by the nation during sanctions and pressure to moving on a rugged course and added, “Nevertheless, we have progressed and this reality shows the capability of the nation and country.”

Outlining the other priorities of the current era, the Leader of the Revolution underscored “the preference of Jihadi (diligent and prudent) management over bureaucracy” and added, “The executive and judicial branches of the government and all of the sectors must follow through their mission with Jihadi management, meaning hard work along with prudence, and proverbially work night and day to advance the affairs.”  

 “Giving preference to the grass roots over partisan and factional interests and goals” and “giving priority to providing services to the poor strata and deprived areas” were two other recommendations by the Leader to the officials. 

On defensive issues, Ayatollah Khamenei said the continuation of the development and renovation of all of the approaches, means and equipment that the country requires today and tomorrow take full priority and added, “Without a moment’s doubt, the country must move toward anything that it needs for defense, even if the entire world is against it.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution vehemently criticized the enemies who threaten humanity with their weaponry but oppose Iran’s missile might, saying, “What concern of you is this issue? You want the Iranian nation not to have missiles and other self-defense facilities in order to bully it.” 

He added, “Of course, we consider issues such as nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction to be Haram (forbidden by Islam), but will mightily pursue anything else that we may need.” 

Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the preference for cooperation with neighbors, eastern countries and those who have common interests with Iran and underscored “job creation and production” in particular while outlining economic priorities. He pointed to having named this year as “Resistance Economy; Production and Job Creation,” saying, “Some things have been done in this area and some statistics released, but for the realization of what is in mind more effort and endeavor is required.”   

Ayatollah Khamenei called on the beloved youths and teenagers of the country to be prepared in areas of faith, science and revolution and added, “The youth are the engines for the progress of the present and future of the country and the present generation of youths, which has greater resolve, diligence and insight than the first generation of the Revolution must prepare itself to speed up the progress of the country.”  

In the final segment of his remarks, the Leader of the Revolution said the endurance and sturdiness of the Islamic Revolution despite 40 years of plots and measures by tyrannical and malevolent governments is the best reason for the might of the Islamic Republic, stressing, “We know the overt and covert threats, remarks and ploys of the enemies, but we stress, without a moment’s hesitation, that the Islamic establishment relying on the people will grow stronger by the day and as [the late founder of the Islamic Republic] Imam Khomeini said, ‘The US cannot do a damn thing.’”   

Prior to the remarks of Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, the representative of the Leader in East Azerbaijan Province and the Friday Prayers leader in Tabriz said the province has offered 10,000 martyrs, including 19 while defending the holy shrine from Takfiris in Syria in Iraq, adding, “The anniversary of February 18, 1978 is not just a calendar event for the Azerbaijanis but is reference back to a root that will forever keep the allegiance-pledging hand of East Azerbaijan in the kind hands of the Islamic Revolution.”    

Hojatoleslam Al-e Hashem called for the caring attention of statesmen to the problems of Lake Urmia and said, “In every event, the people of Azerbaijan blocked the path of opportunists and preserved well their hallmark of pride and credibility.”